- Urochroa bougueri
Identification
13-14 cm.
- Black, long, straight bill
- Coppery green upperparts
- Rufous-cinnamon malar streak
- Iridescent blue throat and breast
- Dull grey belly
- Black central and outermost rectrices, rest white with dusky-grey edges
Sexes similar, females probably slightly duller than males.
Juveniles like adults but with buff fringes on head feathers.
Distribution
Colombia to Ecuador.
Fairly common in Colombia, uncommon to rare in Ecuador.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1]:
Habitat
Found in montane forest, forest edge and secondary growth, often near streams.
Occurs at 1600 to 2800 m, most numerous around 1800 m. Sometimes found at much lower elevations in shrubby slopes (down to 800 m).
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on nectar of flowering Bomarea, Psammisia, Inga and Cavendishia trees. Also catches insects by hawking.
Breeding
Breeding season from December to March in southwest Colombia. The nest is cup-shaped and made of moss and lichen. It's built on a vertical, medium-sized branch of a tall tree, 8 to 12 m above the ground. Lays 2 eggs.
Movements
A sedentary species with some seasonal altitudinal dispersal.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2017. IOC World Bird Names (version 7.1). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved February 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Rufous-gaped Hillstar. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rufous-gaped_Hillstar
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
